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one day i turned on my MacBook 13" 10.5.6 version, but this time nothing was responding. It all started good, and the boot screen showed up, it was all good till the login screen, it showed me the user name and I was supposed to type the password.

when trying to use the mouse pad to get to the password field, the mouse pad wasn't responding. Then I tried using the keyboard and also it wasn't working. Even the caps lock button is not working (figured that bcz its green light wasn't turning on when clicking the button).

I did that already. I did push the power button for several seconds to shut it down, then i turned it on. but still the same problem, its not working. I tried plugging a keyboard and a mouse (normal mouse, not bluetooth nor wireless) but still the MacBook is not responding to any of the devices I plugged in, even after restarting the system.

So, I dunno how to fix this problem !! I use my mac on a daily bases, and now it has been down for almost two days. Please anybody, help me with this problem !!

I had the exact same thing happen. Everything was working fine, I shut-down my Macbook, took it to a meeting, booted it up, and the keyboard and mouse would not respond (including bluetooth and USB).

I was able to boot into safe mode (holding the shift key right after the tone), which led me to believe it was a software issue, and not a hardware issue.

I booted using my Leopard install DVD, and backed up to the most recent Time Machine image that I had. Everything worked, but when I rebooted, the mouse and keyboard were locked again.

It got me thinking, a few weeks back I upgraded to 10.5.6, and a couple days ago, I had installed the USB patch to allow my iPhone to connect in DFU mode. I'm thinking that patch messed something up with my computer. So, I restored to an image earlier than the USB patch and now everything is working fine (I've rebooted several times).

I did spend some time on the phone with Apple Support, and although they were friendly, they had no idea regarding this issue (although it has showed up on some forums, generally with Macbooks and Macbook Pros).

I did that already. I did push the power button for several seconds to shut it down, then i turned it on. but still the same problem, its not working. I tried plugging a keyboard and a mouse (normal mouse, not bluetooth nor wireless) but still the MacBook is not responding to any of the devices I plugged in, even after restarting the system.

So, I dunno how to fix this problem !! I use my mac on a daily bases, and now it has been down for almost two days. Please anybody, help me with this problem !!

Assuming your system software, like key and mouse driver got corrupted, and you can boot your MacBook into SAFE mode (see edge777's post), why don't you try an "Archive and Install" from the MacBook Install CD. When it works (which depends on how bad things are with you), all your installed programs are preserved and your data is untouched, while a copy of our old system is saved to a folder called PREVIOUS SYSTEM in case not everthing got migrated properly. Assuming you can work your keyboard and touchpad in SAFE mode, I would do a system backup (I believe I ran a Time Machine backup successfully in SAFE mode) first, just to preserve your data for a worst-case scenario. All sounds are extremely low, iTunes, iMovies and iDVD (and probably many other stuff) doesn't work in SAFE mode. So you do need to restore your system.

My MacBook Pro froze on normal boot last November. After researching the problem on these forums, I booted into SAFE mode and did the Archive and Install, which restored my system. It's all good now.

(Side note, do NOT install that kext patch in order to get access to DFU mode, it really DOES disable your keyboard and mouse).

Being a trusting idiot, I used that automated patch and now have no access to a keyboard or mouse and it also disables the usb port on my Macbook air.

I'm out of luck at the moment since booting into safe mode doesn't give me access to the keyboard or mouse and since this is a Macbook air, I don't have a cd drive with me at the moment to reinstall osx. *sighs*

Bummer, that sucks. Well, one good thing, and too bad we had to be the guinea pigs on this one - When I first tried to search for a solution to this problem, I came up with several others having the same problems, but no answers. At least others now know the problem is not hardware related, and how to fix it.

I have the same problem. I feel like its a software issue because I've replace the keyboard with a brand new one last week and that didn't fix the problem. I've considered the possibility that I got a bad replacement keyboard, but it seems unlikely. Please let us know if re-installing OS helps any. (I don't have a restore disk for this computer so I can't test that one myself.)

I just fixed this problem on my MacBook Pro and thought I would share what resolved it. I had the same issue, my keyboard and trackpad were locking up after a period of use.. for no specific reason. I could power down with holding down the power button but the problem would continue at random during use.

I took it in to a Genius at the Apple Store and they resolved it in less than an hour by replacing the Topcase (the part your hands rest on including the trackpad but not the keyboard). Basically the problem is related to how the Topcase connects to the mainboard.

The problem was this: There is only one wire that makes the connection between the mainboard and the trackpad component. When that wire fails to connect or the trackpad has some problem with it, both the keyboard and trackpad cease to operate. You can test this by plugging in an external keyboard and mouse. If they work, its a problem with your Topcase.

Replacing the Topcase takes about an hour if staff is available and the part is in stock. It did cost me around $300 for it but its cheaper than a new MacBook Pro and I got a brand new trackpad and surface for part that goes around my keyboard (basically 1/4 of my mac is now brand new) so the price is pretty reasonable.

nickf, awesome!
What you described is pretty much exactly the problem I've been having with my MacBook Pro. I've been having to use an external mouse and keyboard, which works fine but is a huge pain. Sometimes my built in trackpad and keyboard will start working spontaneously, but most often they don't work.
I hope mine is the same problem you had and not something much worse, thanks for the post

"Donít let it end like this. Tell them I said something."
- Pancho Villa (1877-1923), last words

I just had this happen today, no changes to OS, just the keyboard and touchpad stopped working.

Booting into Single User (command+S) I was able to run applejack, ran all checks but the fix permissions, restarted and the keyboard and touchpad worked again. Saved having to do the archive & reinstall.